Hyperbranched poly(arylene-ether-ketone-imide) containing thermally reactive groups

ABSTRACT

New hyperbranched polymers having repeating units of the formulaThe polymer is prepared by the polymerization of the AB2 monomer N-{3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzene}-4-fluoroisophthalimide.

RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to hyperbranched polyimides.

Aromatic polyimides (PIs) are well known, high-performance materials with widespread applications in the aerospace and electronics industries due to their excellent thermomechanical and dielectric properties. Recently, it was demonstrated that they are useful as optical materials based on their optical anisotropy when cast in directions parallel (in-plane) and perpendicular (out-of-plane) to the film surface. However, when fully imidized, most aromatic PI's have limited solubility in common organic solvents, thus restricting the choice in processing options. Numerous research efforts have focused on organo-soluble PIs from the modification of the structure without substantially decreasing rigidity of their backbone. Solubility is desired in order to allow processing polymers with preformed imide units and to avoid the problems associated with handling poly(amic acid) (PAA) precursors. In addition, homogeneous, post-polymer reactions of soluble aromatic polyimides would allow better control in the introduction of desirable functional groups.

A viable alternative to attaining solubility in aromatic PIs is to change the traditional, linear geometry of the macromolecules to three-dimensional, highly branched (dendritic) architecture. As a subset of dendritic polymers, hyperbranched polymers have several important advantages such as better solubility compared to their linear counterparts, and easier synthesis than their analogous dendrimers, which involve tedious multi-step synthesis. Large quantity of hyperbranched polymers can be easily produced from AB_(x) (x≧2) monomers. There are few reports on synthesis of hyperbranched PIs, and their utilization.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new hyperbranched polyimides.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there are provided new hyperbranched polymers having repeating units of the formula

The polymer is prepared by the polymerization of the AB₂ monomer N-{3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzene}-4-fluoroisophthalimide.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Synthesis of the AB₂ monomer, N-{3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzene}-4-fluoroisophthalimide, is shown by the following reaction sequence:

In this sequence, 5-nitroisophthalic acid is first treated with thionyl chloride (reaction a) to provide 5-nitroisophthaloyl dichloride (1). Friedel-Crafts reaction of 1 with anisole in the presence of aluminum chloride (reaction b) gives 3,5-bis(4-methoxybenzoyl)nitrobenzene (2), which is then demethylated with pyridine hydrochloride (reaction c) to provide 3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)nitrobenzene (3). Compound 3 is then reduced (reaction d) to 3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)aniline (4). Upon reacting with 4-fluoroisophthalic anhydride, with catalytic amount of isoquinoline, 4 is converted to the monomer 5, N-{3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzene}-4-fluoroisophthalimide (reaction e).

The resulting AB₂ monomer can be polymerized in the presence of potassium carbonate under Dean-Stark conditions to afford high molecular, low viscosity hyperbranched ether-ketone-imide polymer having repeating units with hydroxyl endgroups:

These endgroups can be readily converted to other useful and thermally reactive groups, such as, for example, —CH₂—CH═CH₂, —CH₂—C≡CH and

The polymers with reactive endgroups are key components of high-temperature matrix resins such as cyanate ester resins, phthalonitrile- and benzoxazine-based thermosets, and the like.

The following examples illustrate the invention:

EXAMPLE 1 5-Nitroisophthaloyl Dichloride (1)

Into a 500 mL one-necked round bottom flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer and nitrogen inlet, 5-nitroisophthalic acid (25.0 g, 0.12 mol) was dissolved freshly distilled thionyl chloride (80 mL) containing DMF (3 drops). The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h and gently heated under reflux for 6 h. Excess amount of thionyl chloride was distilled off and the mixture was then chilled in an ice-and-salt bath. Freshly distilled hexane was added into the light yellow residue with vigorous stirring. The resulting white needles are collected by suction filtration and dried under reduced pressure to give 29.1 g (99.1% yield) of white needles, m.p. 59-61.5° C. FT-IR (KBr, cm⁻¹): 1536, 1349 (Ar—NO₂), 1757 (carbonyl). Mass spectrum (m/e): 248 (M⁺, 100% relative abundance). ¹H-NMR (CDCl₃, δ in ppm): 8.96 (s, 2H, Ar), 9.12 (s, 1H, Ar). ¹³C-NMR (CDCl₃, δ in ppm): 127.89, 133.33, 136.12, 148.25, 165.35.

EXAMPLE 2 3,5-Bis(4-methoxylbenzoyl)nitrobenzene (2)

Into a 250 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, nitrogen inlet, and dropping funnel, aluminum chloride (25.4 g, 0.19 mol) and anhydrous anisole (60 mL) were introduced. After the mixture was cooled down to 15° C. in an ice-water bath, a solution of 5-nitroisophthaloyl dichloride (15.0 g, 60 mmol) in anhydrous anisole was then added dropwise for 20 min. The mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature. After 8 h of stirring, the mixture was poured into 5% hydrochloric acid. The organic layer was diluted with methylene chloride, separated with the aid of a separatory funnel, and rotovapped to dryness. The resulting off-white solid residue was dissolved in hot ethanol and allowed to cool to room temperature to give 11.2 g (47.7% yield) of off-white solids, m.p. 181-182° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₂₂H₁₇NO₆: C, 67.52%; H, 4.38%; N, 3.58%; O, 24.53%. Found: C, 67.56%; H, 4.35%; N, 3.45%; O, 24.76%. FT-IR (KBr, cm⁻¹): 1538 (Ar—NO₂), 1262, 1325 (ether), 1598, 1655 (carbonyl). Mass spectrum (m/e): 391 (M⁺, 100% relative abundance). ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆; δ in ppm) 3.89 (s, 6H, OCH₃), 7.12-7.15 (d, 2H, Ar), 7.85-7.88 (d, 2H, Ar) 8.26 (t, 1H, Ar), 8.61 (d, 2H, Ar). ¹³C-NMR (DMSO-d₆; δ in ppm) 55.61, 114.15, 126.27, 128.09, 132.47, 135.00, 139.18, 147.67, 163.57, 191.53.

EXAMPLE 3 3,5-Bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)nitrobenzene (3)

Into a 250 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, a condenser, and nitrogen inlet, 3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenylcarbonyl)nitrobenzene (6.2 g, 15.8 mmol) and freshly prepared pyridine hydrochloride (100 g) were placed. The mixture was heated under reflux until the solution became homogeneous. It took about 4 h. After cooled down 120° C., the mixture was poured into water. The resulting precipitate was collected and dried. The yellow solid was slurred in boiling toluene and collected by suction filtration to give 5.5 g (96% yield), m.p. 230-231.8° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₂₀H₁₃NO₆: C, 66.12%; H, 3.61%; N, 3.86%; O, 26.42%. Found: C, 66.07%; H, 3.64%; N, 3.67%; O, 17.01%. FT-IR (KBr, cm⁻¹): 1321, 1538 (Ar—NO₂), 1602, 1648 (carbonyl), 3420 (Ar—OH). Mass spectrum (m/e): 363 (M⁺, 100% relative abundance). ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm): 6.93-6.96 (d, 4H, Ar), 7.76-7.79 (d, 4H, Ar), 8.23 (s, 1H, Ar), 8.58 (s, 2H, Ar), 10.66 (s, 2H, OH). ¹³C-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm) 115.48, 126.02, 126.65, 132.84, 134.83, 139.44, 147.61, 156.80, 162.70, 191.36.

EXAMPLE 4 3,5-Bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)aminobenzene (4)

Into a 500 mL high pressure bottle, 5-nitroisophthalic acid (4.8 g, 13 mmol), palladium on activated carbon (10%, 0.5 g), and ethanol (100 mL) were charged. The bottle was placed on the hydrogenation vessel. Hydrogen was charged and discharged five times and agitated at 60-65 psi for 24 h. After the reaction mixture had been filtered through a cake of Celite 545 to remove catalyst, the solvent of the filtrate was removed on a rotary evaporator. The light yellow solid was recrystallized from deoxygenated 20% ethanol to give 4.4 g (>99% yield) of yellow powder, m.p. 249.5-250.5° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₂₀H₁₅NO₄: C, 72.06%; H, 4.54%; N, 4.20%; O, 19.20%. Found: C, 72.04%; H, 4.89%; N, 3.91%; O, 18.60%. FT-IR (KBr, cm⁻¹): 763 (Ar—NH₂),1598 1634 (carbonyl), 3378 (Ar—NH₂). Mass spectrum (m/e): 333 (M⁺, 100% relative abundance). ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆; δ in ppm): 5.71 (s, 2H, NH₂), 6.90-6.93 (d, 4H, Ar), 6.70 (s, 1H 7.14 (s, 2H, Ar), 7.70-7.71 (d, 4H, Ar), 10.44 (s, 1H, OH). ¹³C-NMR (DMSO-d₆; δ in ppm): 115.10, 117.09, 117.55, 127.95, 132.35, 138.57, 148.91, 161.87, 194.21.

EXAMPLE 5 N-{3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoylbenzene)}-4-fluorophthalimide (5)

Into a 250 mL three-necked round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer and nitrogen inlet and outlet, 3,5-bis(4-hydroxyphenylcarbonyl)aminobenzene (4.3 g, 13 mmol) was completely dissolved in NMP (50 mL). 4-Fluorophthalic anhydride (2.1 g, 12 mmol) was then added. The mixture was then heated and when temperature was approaching 170-180° C., isoquinoline (5 drops) was added. The mixture was heated at 200° C. with stirring for 18 h. After cooled down to room temperature, the mixture was poured into 5% hydrochloric acid and the resulting precipitate was collected by suction filtration and dried under the reduced pressure. The off-white solid was dissolved in hot toluene and allowed to cool to room temperature to give 4.3 g (72% yield) of off-white solid, m.p. 274-276° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₂₈H₁₆FNO₆: C, 69.86%; H, 3.35%; N, 2.91%. Found: C, 69.90%; H, 3.90%; N, 2.66%. FT-IR (KBr, cm⁻¹): 1644, 1601 (imide), 1724 (carbonyl) 3413 (Ar—OH). Mass spectrum (m/e): 481 (M⁺, 100% relative abundance). ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm): 6.93-6.96 (d, 4H, Ar), 7.71-7.75 (d,1H, Ar), 7.78-7.82 (d, 4H, Ar), 7.89-7.93 (dd, 1H, Ar), 7.96-7.97 (t, 1H, Ar), 8.05-8.07 (d, 1H, Ar), 8.09-8.10 (d, 2H, Ar), 10.58 (s, 2H, OH) ¹³C-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm) 111.44, 115.36, 121.38, 126.30, 127.11, 127.71, 128.95, 130.45, 132.70, 134.65, 138.43, 162.36, 163.97, 165.47, 165.73, 167.71, 192.45.

EXAMPLE 6 Hyperbranched Polymer Derived From N,N′-Bis(3-acetylphenyl)-4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalimide (HT-PAEKI)

Into a 100 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, nitrogen inlet and outlet, and Dean-Stark trap with a condenser, N-[3,5-bis(4-hydroxybenzoyl)benzene]-4-fluorophthalimide (1.5 g, 3.1 mmol), potassium carbonate (1.0 g, 7.2 mmol), and a mixture of NMP (30 mL) and toluene solvent were placed. The reaction mixture was then heated and maintained at 140-150° C. for 4 h. During this time period, the water formed was removed by toluene azeotropic distillation via a Dean-Stark trap. After complete removal of toluene by an increased the flow of nitrogen, the orange solution was then heated at 160° C. for 3 h. The solution became brown in color and viscous. Some precipitate was observed 30 min after reaction temperature had reached 160° C. After being allowed to cool down on its own, the mixture was poured into a beaker containing 5% hydrochloric acid (300 mL). The resulting precipitate was collected by suction filtration and air-dried. Off-white powder was dissolved in NMP again and passed through a cake of Celite 545 to remove any insoluble salts. The filtrate was poured in a beaker containing 5% hydrochloric acid (300mL) and warmed up to around 60-70° C. for 2 h. The white powder was collected and dried under the reduced pressure over phosphorus pentoxide at 100° C. for 48 h. The yield was essentially quantitative. [η]=0.13 dL/g. T_(g)=224° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₂₈H₁₅NO₆: C, 72.88%; H, 3.28%; N, 3.06%. Found: C, 68.55%; H, 3.93%; N, 3.01%. ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆; δ in ppm) 6.89-8.39 (Ar—H) and 10.55-10.84 (Ar—OH). Thermogravemetric analysis result indicates that this hyperbranched polymer lost 5% of its original weight about 400° C. in air and 416° C. in helium, respectively.

EXAMPLE 7 Allylation of Hyperbranched HT-PAEKI.

Into a 50 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, nitrogen inlet, and a condenser, hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(arylene-ether-ketone-imide) (0.5 g, 1.08 mmol), potassium carbonate (0.4 g, 2.9 mmol), allyl bromide (0.30 g, 2.48 mmol), and NMP (10 mL) were placed. The reaction mixture was then heated and maintained at 80-90° C. for 10 h. During this time period, the orange solution became light yellow in color and homogeneous. After it had been allowed cool down on its own, the mixture was filtered through a cake of Celite 545 to remove any insoluble salts. The filtrate was poured into a beaker containing 5% hydrochloric acid (?mL) and the mixture was warmed up around 60-70° C. for 2 h. The white powder was collected and dried under the reduced pressure in the presence of phosphorus pentoxide at 50° C. for 48 h. The yield was essentially quantitative. [η]=0.08 dL/g. T_(g)=134° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₃₁H₁₉NO₆: C, 74.10%; H, 4.01%; N, 2.79%; O, 19.10%. Found: C, 73.10%; H, 4.17%; N, 2.77%, O, 17.76%. ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm): 4.71 (—CH₂—CH═CH₂), 5.24-5.43 (—CH₂—CH═CH₂), 6.01 (—CH₂—CH═CH₂), and 7.11-8.21 (Ar—H).

EXAMPLE 8 Propargylation of Hyperbranched HT-PAEKI.

Into a 50 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, nitrogen inlet, and a condenser, hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(arylene-ether-ketone-imide (0.5 g, 1.08 mmol), potassium carbonate (0.4 g, 2.9 mmol), propargyl bromide (0.30 g, 2.52 mmol), and NMP (10 mL) were placed. The reaction mixture was then heated and maintained at 80-90° C. for 10 h. During this time period, the orange solution became light yellow in color and homogeneous. After it had been allowed to cool down on its own, the mixture was filtered through a cake of Celite 545 to remove any insoluble salts. The filtrate was then poured into a beaker containing 5% hydrochloric acid (300 mL) and the mixture was warmed up to around 60-70° C. for 2 h. The white powder Was collected and dried under the reduced pressure in the presence of phosphorus pentoxide at 50° C. for 48 h. The yield was essentially quantitative. [η]=0.08 dL/g. T_(g)=122. Anal. Calcd. for C₃₁H₁₇NO₆: C, 74.55%; H, 3.43%; N, 2.80%; O, 19.22%. Found: C, 73.07%; H, 3.82%; N, 2.70%; O, 17.99%. ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm): 3.64 (—CH₂—C═CH), 4.96 (—CH₂—C═CH), and 7.11-8.21 (Ar—H).

EXAMPLE 9 Epoxidation of Hyperbranched HT-PAEKI.

Into a 50 mL three-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirrer, nitrogen inlet, and a condenser, hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched poly(arylene-ether-ketone-imide) (0.1 g, 0.22 mmol), potassium carbonate (0.2 g, 14.5 mmol), epichlorohydrin (0.30 g, 2.52), and NMP (10 mL) were placed. The reaction mixture was then heated and maintained at 80-90° C. for 10 h. During this time period, the orange solution became light yellow in color and homogeneous. After it had been allowed to cool down on its own, the mixture was filtered through a cake of Celite 545 to remove any insoluble salts. The filtrate poured in a beaker containing 5% hydrochloric acid (?mL) and the mixture was warmed up around 60-70° C. for 2 h. The white powder was collected and dried under the reduced pressure in the presence of phosphorus pentoxide at 50° C. for 48 h. The yield was essentially quantitative. [η]=0.08 dL/g. T_(g)=174° C. Anal. Calcd. for C₃₁H₁₇NO₆: C, 74.55%; H, 3.43%; N, 2.80%; O, 19.22%. Found: C, 73.07%; H, 3.82%; N, 2.70%; O, 17.99%. ¹H-NMR (DMSO-d₆, δ in ppm): 3.33 (s, 2H, CH₂), 3.70 (s, 1H, CH), 3.95 (s, 2H, CH₂), and 7.16-8.38 (m, 14H, Ar).

EXAMPLE 10 Polymer Properties

All the polymers were soluble in polar aprotic solvents (DMF, DMAc, DMSO, NMP, sulfolane) and an ether solvent (THF). The intrinsic viscosities of the polymers are given in Table 1, below.

The glass-transition temperatures (T_(g)'s) of hyperbranched polymers were determined using DSC method. The thermograms were generated from their powder samples after they had been previously heated to 200° C. and air-cooled to ambient temperature. The T_(g) was defined as the mid-point of the maximum baseline shift from the second run. HT-PAEKI displayed a T_(g) at 225° C. AT-PAEKI showed a T_(g) at 134° C. and two exotherms with peak temperatures at 200° C. and 269° C. The first exotherm stemmed from the Claisen Rearrangement reaction during which ortho-allylphenols were formed from the allyl-phenyl-ether end-groups. The latter exotherm was ascribable to the thermal reaction (cure) via the allyl groups. PT-PAEKI exhibited a T_(g) at 122° C. and an exotherm with the onset temperature about 200° C. and peak temperature at 278° C. This exotherm (ΔH₁=451 mJ/g) is attributable to the formation of chromene from the propargyl group followed by the curing of the latter. ET-PAEKI showed a T_(g) at 174° C. and an exotherm (ΔH₂=294 mJ/g of heat of reaction) with onset and peak temperatures at 300° C. and 350° C., respectively. This exotherm is likely the result of the ring-opening of the epoxy functions and subsequent reactions as well as decomposition as indicated by some weight loss in its TGA (helium) around 350° C. It is noteworthy that the sum of heat of reaction (ΔH₂) detected for AT-PAEKI is appreciably smaller than the values for PT-PAEKI and ET-PAEKI. This is because the thermal conversion of Claisen Rearrangement in AT-PAEKI might not be quantitative and the loss of some allyl groups might have occurred at such high temperatures. From the powder samples of HT-PAEKI, AT-PAEKI, PT-PAEKI, and ET-PAEKI, temperatures at which a 5% weight loss was observed were in the range of 330-431° C. in helium and 318-416° C. in air, respectively. In the case of HT-PAEKI, the lower degradation (weight loss) temperature in helium than that in air was probably due to the presence of a large number of hydroxyl groups at the chain-ends, thus making the material hygroscopic and capable to absorb moisture (up to ˜2%) between 25-100° C. when its TGA experiment was conducted in air.

TABLE 1 Properties of hyperbranched polyimides TGA In Helium In Air Char Char [η]^(a) T_(g) ^(b) T_(exo1) ΔH₁ T_(exo2) ΔH₂ T_(d5%) ^(c) (%) at T_(d5%) ^(c) (%) at Polymer (dL/g) (° C.) (° C.) (J/g) (° C.) (J/g) (° C.) 850° C. (° C.) 850° C. HT-PAEKI 0.13 225 411 55 416 0.6 AT-PAEKI 0.08 134 269 98.2 343 114.7 431 58 408 0.1 PT-PAEKI 0.08 122 278 450.5 422 50 412 3.3 ET-PAEKI 0.08 174 350 294.2 330 46 318 1.7 ^(a)Intrinsic viscosity measured in NMP at 30° C. ^(b)Inflection in baseline on DSC thermogram obtained in N₂ with a heating rate of 10° C. ^(c)Temperature at which 5% weight loss occurred on TGA thermogram obtained with a heating rate of 20°C./min.

Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the disclosures herein are exemplary only and that alternatives, adaptations and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. 

We claim:
 1. A hyperbranched polymer having repeating units of the formula


2. The polymer of claim 1 which is end-capped with —CH₂—CH═CH₂.
 3. The polymer of claim 1 which is end-capped with —CH₂—C≡CH.
 4. The polymer of claim 1 which is end-capped with


5. The polymer of claim 1 which is end-capped with —OH. 